Booze and Backstabbers
by StartledWalnut
Summary: A punk, a doctor, a princess, and a waitress. On the outside they appear inherently different, yet what lies deep within them is the similar desire for survival and success. At what lengths will they go to achieve this? At what cost? AU, OC


Booze and Backstabbers

Chapter One

He was driving fast. He knew it, accepted it, and was not at all bothered by it. All he was truly aware of was the gripping sense of power that cloaked him as he drove around recklessly in his black 1967 Pontiac Firebird. With his pale fingers grasping the steering wheel, the crazed eyes of Eustass "Captain" Kid gazed upon the dark urban environment ahead of him.

Tall skyscrapers rose from the concrete ocean with fluorescent lights shining from them in the cool night sky, people walked the streets aimlessly in search of a good time. The young man felt at home and at ease. This was Sabaody City, his kingdom and the home base for his gang, the Kids.

It should have been obvious, the fact that he led a gang. One look at his flaming, maroon hair and his trademark fur coat should have given it away. The small dagger and pistol he always had strapped to his expansive chest should have made it easier for someone to realize too, yet most of the time people only made the connection while they were fighting him. The infamously demonic curl of his lips and the sickening bursts of laughter he gave while he shot and stabbed away at his enemies was known throughout the city. That was one of the many reasons why the Kids were known as one the most cruel rookie gangs in Sabaody, and that thrilled him.

"Kid, you should slow down."

Agitated, the reckless redhead turned to his nearly forgotten companion. With his arms crossed and his lean form slouched lazily in his seat, Killer-Kid's right-hand man- gazed out of the vehicle's passenger side window with his masked face. The mysterious blonde had always enjoyed tagging along with Kid on their havoc-wreaking nights out, yet the one thing he never seemed pleased with was the furious speed the devilish ginger chose to drive at. It was kind of funny how the golden-haired mystery man- a person who could stomach slashing away at an enemy's body- could not bear driving at one-hundred-and ten miles per hour.

Focusing his narrowed eyes back on the road ahead of him, Kid let out a loud cackle as he ignored his friend's unwelcome advice in favor of speeding up even more. The young man, who was still in his early twenties, never took orders too well, even if they were coming from a reliable source like Killer. When a person tried to command him, he'd usually pull out the pistol he had strapped to his muscled abdomen and aim it at their heads. It got the point across, but since Killer was a person the young man trusted with his life, Kid didn't think of killing him.

"It's Friday night, Killer," Kid spoke excitedly," This is our time to show those other fucking gangs what we're made of!"

A small noise of agreement came lightly from Killer's side of the car. This made the redhead continue.

"Come on, Killer; let's see if we can find any assholes to kick the shit out of!"

Nodding the blonde, who was already looking out of the passenger window, pointed to a few men clad in suits and fedoras exiting out of one of the many bars that existed in the downtown area of Sabaody City.

"What about them?" Killer inquired.

Slowing down, Kid glanced towards the street where the men were on. A frown formed on his dark lipstick-covered lips. He then turned to his companion and shook his head disapprovingly.

"Those are Capone's men," the battle anxious redhead claimed," They're way too weak to be enjoyable."

The redhead continued to drive, cruising along at an intimidating snail-like pace that allowed his blonde companion and him to assess the passerby on the bustling sidewalks. With his eyes narrowed, Kid took in the large crowds. A few members of Sabaody City's other gangs were present. No, actually, a lot of other gang members were present on the moonlit streets.

He angled his head to the side. A group of men clad in dark cloaks had entered into a suspiciously barren magic shop placed among the many crowded bars and restaurants.

"_Basil's"_

Kid then turned his head to look at the other side of the street where a small cluster of about three or four men dressed in dingy brown monk robes entered into a small church-themed bar.

"_Urouge's"_

Seeing no one of interest, Kid placed his eyes on the road ahead of him tiredly. It was the weekend. All of the gangs were surely supposed to be out and about. Well, at least the big shots. Kid had already fought most of the other rookie gangs, and they usually made for some good action, yet they just weren't enough. He began to tap his painted fingernails against the wheel impatiently. It was frustrating; the young man needed to further the name of the Kids throughout the city and brawling was one of the best ways he knew how to.

The Pontiac Firebird leisurely crept on top the gravelly surface of the road. Kid looked about. The slowly decreasing appearance of brightly colored signs and buildings signaled that they were almost out of the bar district.

"This is pathetic…"growled the muscular redhead.

He continued driving until it appeared as if nothing was left of the district, but worn-down buildings and warehouses. It was basically an urban wasteland, a pointless area devoid of any action. Frustrated with the night's turn of events, Kid pulled over to the side of the road and turned the car's engine off. Ripping his toned arms off the steering wheel, the young man fisted at his wild red hair angrily.

"Where am I gonna find a fight now!?"

A lean arm came to tap on his shoulder, snapping Kid out of his enraged thoughts. He twisted his head to yell at his friend, Killer, but stopped short. One his associate's other hands was pointed towards a small, ivory dot in front of them entering into one of the smaller abandoned factories. Leaning forwards in his seat, Kid could begin to tell that the blurry white form was a person. His eyes grew larger as he took in more details. An eerie smile formed on his face once his dark eyes came to rest on the small, yellow symbol placed on the right side of the light-colored jumpsuit.

"It looks like we have a member of the Hearts."

Kid, who was now awoken from his boredom, began to turn on the engine of the black vehicle. He hadn't had the pleasure of seeing one of the Hearts up close. From what he heard, their leader was almost as brutal as him. And with the moniker "Surgeon of Death", Kid was sure the gang's leader had some spunk. Hopefully, his subordinates were as equally talented in the confrontational aspect of gang life. He didn't know much about them, but he was eager to find out.

The redhead's pulse quickened, and his pupils dilated. He knew what was going to come, and he liked it. He turned towards Killer, who was already pulling out a set of blades from the car's glove box, and grinned at him.

"Come on," the young male ordered while revving up the Firebird's engine, "We have a Heart to break."

* * *

"Oi, Sweetpea, table ten needs five martinis."

The thick, pig-tailed woman behind the sleek bar glanced quickly at the tiny, brunette waitress that stood before her, and proceeded to fill the order. Pudgy, yet powerful arms grasped at a few bottles that decorated the tall shelf behind the bar. Her expert hands then took the alcoholic liquids and poured them into a metal shaker. When finished with combining the contents, the opaque beverage was poured into five angular martini glasses.

Giving an approving nod to the hulking bartender, the diminutive waitress set down the round tray she was clasping underneath her armpit on the bar and began to place the glasses on the board with two tanned hands. Arranging them in a tight circle (something the other waitresses had told her to do to prevent easy drink spillage), she hoisted the tray up over one shoulder and proceeded to walk out into the densely packed club floor.

Round tables set atop tall, wooden legs filled the abundant space. At each table was a fairly large group of people chatting, drinking, and having an all-around good time. Their often loud shouts of pleasure, and catcalls reverberated throughout the dimly lit environment.

This was Ellington "Ell" Lane's first week working at the Kuja Club, and, from what she could see, Friday was one of the nightclub's busier days. She had to twist and angle her body around the occupied seats awkwardly to avoid spilling the martinis on her black bandage dress and on the tipsy customers. Ell had bought the expensive article of clothing just for this job (the unmentioned rule of thumb for those who worked at the Kuja Club was to wear something tight and black) and she was not going to ruin it yet.

After waltzing clumsily around the area, the short brunette located table ten which, unluckily for her, was filled with a pack of trust fund kids from one of Sabaody City's numerous colleges. The group of males, upon her arriving to take their order, had used some pretty awful pick-up lines. If she was outside of work, Ell would have informed them of how the lines made them come off as desperate douches, but since she was on the clock, she just forced an exaggerated grin onto her face and quickly walked away after taking their order.

Preparing herself for the possible continuation of horrible flirting, Ell took in a few breaths before striding over to the table. With each step of her high-heeled foot, the short waitress got closer to the males and was able to get a better look at them. Apparently, during her quest for martinis, the five amorous men had added a smaller sixth member to their table. Long, blue hair cascaded down around the stranger's pale face; furious eyes glanced around at her unwanted company. It was a girl and a rather upset one at that.

A groan escaped from the waitress's lips. If there was one thing she loathed, it was people (especially men) who bothered others uncaringly and ruined the fun. Ell knew this was a club, and that people would act a little crazier due to the alcohol being distributed around. She was completely fine with that (she was familiar with the hazy judgment that came along with drunkenness), yet what she saw before her eyes definitely did not seem right.

Sadly, Ell wasn't exactly in the mood for confrontation. She was working, and, since she'd only been in Sabaody City for a little over a week, she really needed the money. Ell's roommate while nice was also a stickler for the prompt payment of rent money. So, in other words, Ell was going to keep her usually blunt mouth shut, avoid getting into a fight, and effectively keep her job.

Quickly, the short woman walked up to the table and plopped the small, martini-covered tray down onto its shiny black surface. The noisy conversation the college boys were partaking in with their silent captive ceased. Six pairs of eyes looked up at her figure. Things had turned very awkward. Ell didn't like awkward.

"So," she began, "Here are your drinks, enjoy."

Ell then attempted to move away from the table. She did not get very far until a slim arm took hold of her wrist. She looked back. The light eyes of one of the table's occupants stared back at her while his pale hand dragged her back towards the still silent group.

"Um, excuse me, was there anything you needed?" Ell asked with a small frown growing on her irritated face. She didn't take well to being handled like a toy. No, she got too much of that from her older brothers and from her ex-boyfriends. Standing well below five feet gave people the wrong idea about her. She wasn't weak, and she wasn't a little doll that could be grabbed, tossed, and picked up nonchalantly.

"No, I just wanted you to join us for a while and keep us company." Spoke light-eyes with an arrogant smirk on his face.

A few of the other trust funders chided in after this comment, telling her how lonely they were, and how pretty she was. It was complete and utter bullshit. Ell didn't like that either.

Making eye contact with the blue-haired woman at the table, Ell raised a brown eyebrow up at her fellow female in hopes of inspiring an act of feminine camaraderie. All she got was a tired and hopeless shrug in response. Ell could only guess that the other girl was coerced into joining the group too. Things had to stop before the frat boys decided to add another unwillingly female to their little group.

In the spur of the moment and on edge, Ell ripped her arm out of light-eye's admittedly strong grip and folded her tanned arms in front of herself. She glared down at the table, quietly appreciating the view their sitting position gave her. It wasn't every day she got to look _down_ at anyone. It gave her a sense of power that further fueled her actions.

"You know," Ell started while taking time to look each polo-clad man in the eye, "It's kind of rude to grab a lady like that."

A few chuckles came from the table; the guy who had grabbed Ell stood up from his chair with an expression of amusement on his face. Disappointed, Ell was practically forced to look up to him again as he leaned slightly towards her.

"Really, I don't see any lady," the man with light-eyes said feigning confusion, "All I see is a slutty waitress."

"_Oh no he didn't!"_

Ell was pissed. Brushing her wavy bob out her face, the petite waitress balled up a fist and rammed it into the college delinquent's cheek. A slight smile formed on her face as her green eyes watched the once cocky man sink to the floor in pain. Was that blood she saw dripping down his cheek? She'd always been told her she had an awesome right hook.

"ELL!"

Snapping out of her pleased thoughts, the young waitress looked back. All of her blood lust and anger vanished as she met the enraged eyes of one the Kuja Club's head waitresses, Kikyo. Ell nervously angled her eyes away from her taller superior. Apparently, her punch had not gone unnoticed, for as her eyes shifted about the room she noticed people at surrounding tables looking at her with a combination of shock and amusement.

She had blown it.

A sudden rough yank on her slim shoulder forced her to look back into Kikyo's eyes. The older woman held Ell's gaze for an agonizing few seconds before dragging her to the back of the club, leaving the trust funders and their mute captive behind. As they made their way through the many tables, Kikyo began to relax her grip on Ell's shoulder which helped ease the newbie waitress's tension.

Eventually, the two women arrived at one of the Kuja Club's dark secluded corners. The sudden isolation made the previous crowded atmosphere seem like a distant memory. There was nothing but silence as the two ladies stared at each other, one with irritation and the other with a reserved fear.

"Ell," Kikyo's raspy, but feminine voice spoke, "When we briefed you on the proper behavior of Kuja employees we told you to make interactions with the customers brief, right?"

Lowering her eyes to black tiled floor beneath her, a furious blush tainted Ell's cheeks. The familiar sensation of sweat emerging from her skin greeted her, emphasizing the amount of trouble she had gotten herself into.

"Yes, Kikyo…"

"Then why did you hit that man?" the older woman's eyes narrowed harshly.

"He was being an ass!" Ell exclaimed. Surely she wasn't the only woman who did not enjoy being called a slut. Although, Ell was okay with usage of that word during more intimate and sexual settings that made it sound arousing. A previous boyfriend of hers was into some really kinky stuff which was alright with her. Gags and whips made for some pretty great se-

"You still can't hit a customer, Ell!"

The younger woman, who was now focused back on the livid dark-haired beauty before her, shrunk back in shame. She knew what she did was wrong. It just seemed so right at the time.

A large frown formed on her face. If she was getting fired tonight her roommate was going to be pissed. He'd eventually kick her out, and then she would have no money and nowhere to live while she attended the local dance academy. Life was a bitch.

Seeing, the sudden change in the trainee waitress before her, Kikyo softened her rigid stance and let out a sigh. Placing one of her pale hands on Ell's shoulder, she forced the drastically shorter woman to look at her.

"I'm not going to fire you," Kikyo started, "but I will ask you to take the night off, and come back on Monday."

While this was a better outcome than she had foreseen, Ell still could not help, but feel a little disappointed in herself. Kikyo was a pretty cool lady, so seeing her get upset (which wasn't really a rare occurrence) gave her a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Giving Kikyo a stiff nod, Ell detached herself from the head waitress's grasp, walked to the employee break room to get her worn-down bomber jacket and purse, and headed towards the club's exit. Once she was met with the cool night air of Sabaody City, Ell decided that it was still too early to go home and began walking towards one of the districts many bars.

As she passed by the eclectic collection of neon signs, Ell heard a few light steps follow after her. Being a paranoid single woman, she could not help but speed up her high-heeled walk. The steps behind her got quicker as well; it was almost as if the person was trying to catch up to her. An annoyed and slightly tense Ell stopped her pace and speedily turned around to face her stalker. It was a surprise to see the nearly forgotten cyan-haired female from the trust-funder's table behind her; she probably hauled her ass out of there while the flirtatious frat boys were distracted. The pale woman, who looked to be around her own age, raised up her coat-clad arms in front her slim body, trying to get across the message that she was no danger.

Raising an eyebrow, Ell observed the young woman. Her buttoned-up navy coat seemed to be designer and paired excellently with the stark white boots that adorned her small feet. The girl definitely had to have come from one of the city's wealthier families. A slight pang of jealousy tingled in the tanned waitress's psyche.

"What do you want?" she asked giving the blunette a light glare with her green eyes.

Nervously, the pale woman in front of Ell began fiddling with her hands. Her dark eyes stared back into those of the stout waitress. She then proceeded to walk up to her and reach out a slender and soft-looking hand.

"I-I just wanted to introduce myself," the woman with ocean-colored locks stuttered, "My name's Vivi."

The scowl on Ell's face disappeared and was replaced with a look of mild curiosity. The kind look in the girl's eyes made her feel at ease. Ell gradually raised her hand to join with the blunette's in a firm handshake.

"My name's Ellington, but people call me Ell for short."

"It's nice to meet you, Ell." Vivi responded with a shy smile on her light lips.

"Back at ya."

"So…," started Vivi, "I just wanted to apologize for what happened back there; those men were very rude."

Ell shrugged. "It wasn't your fault, you were just sitting there."

"I know, but I felt like I should have done something, especially after you punched that one guy."

"So, I'm guessing you think your little friends were assholes too, right?"

"They're not my friends," cried Vivi, "We just go to the same college. They dragged me over to their table!"

Scoffing, Ell readjusted her purse straps and looked towards her new associate. "Whatever, I don't really care, I just want to get smashed."

"Smashed?"

The brunette's mouth dropped open. Was this chick for real?

"You know, get drunk." Ell stated matter-of-factly.

"O-Oh," It looked like some gears clicked in the pale woman's head," If you want I can pay for you!"

"Really?"

"Y-yes, it will give me a way to apologize." Vivi said with a look of pure determination on her delicate face.

This was a very fortunate turn of events. It wasn't every day someone offered to pay for Ell's booze, and she wasn't complaining. It was Friday night, one of the best times to get drunk.

"Sure," Ell replied coolly, trying to hide a small smile, "You can pay as long as you don't mind going broke."

And with that Ell began to cheerfully walk down the brightly-lit street again with a now worried Vivi trailing behind her. The night was still young and so were they.

* * *

She didn't just have one drink. No, she wasn't a lightweight like the blunette besides her who was gingerly sipping on a glass of water. Nope, Ell definitely had drunk over twenty bottles of beer. She wasn't too sure on the number, but glancing quickly at the numerous glasses that littered her space at the bar gave her the notion that she was definitely somewhere in that range.

"Eh, yo," Ell called out to the bartender, an old man with a handlebar mustache," Give meh sum more beer."

Giving the drunken young woman an annoyed look, the bartender shook his head. "Sorry toots, I think you've reached yer limit."

"What," she asked incredulously, "I have no limit, I'm awesome!"

"Sure."

The bartender turned towards the calm blue-haired woman sitting next to Ell. "You might want to take your friend home."

Looking up from her admittedly boring glass of water, Vivi nodded and pulled out her wallet to pay for the large amount of drinks her new friend poured down the garbage disposal she called a throat. Placing the cash on the wooden bar, she turned towards Ell and tapped the drowsy-looking woman on her shoulder.

"Ell, I think we should get you back home."

"No!"

"Please." begged Vivi with every earnest bone in her body. She didn't want to stay in the seedy bar for a moment longer. There was an abundance of men with tattoos eyeing the pair, and she did not want to find out why. She gave Ell another rough shake.

"Fine."

Sliding off of the creaky barstool, Ell snatched her purse up from the collection of beer bottles and proceeded to stumble rather speedily out of the bar with Vivi following after her. As Ell stepped out onto the nearly empty sidewalk, the drunken waitress eyed a comfy-looking benched placed on the opposite side of the road, and decided that she needed to take a nap.

"Yay, naptime!"

She then trotted down across the road, unaware of the green stoplight lit above her. Her surroundings didn't seem too important. They were way too blurry and uninteresting.

"No, Ell get out of the way!"

Was that Vivi? That bitch was getting on her last nerves. Turning her head to yell at the cyan-haired girl, Ell was completely oblivious to bright lights that were hastily approaching her on the street.

"Shut up, Vi-"

A loud car horn pierced the air.

* * *

'We totally fucked that Heart up, didn't we Killer?"

Looking to the silent blonde besides him in the car, Kid saw Killer nod slightly.

"Yeah, I liked the way he screamed."

Kid smirked in agreement. Killer was right; the young Heart member's loud shouts of pain were comparable to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony to him. When he saw the menacing redhead and mask-wearing blonde walking towards him, the jumpsuit-clad man backed away and let out a little yelp. It wasn't until Kid pulled out his pistol that the little wimp began to run. They still caught up to him though, and they still beat him to a bloody pulp. He really wasn't much of a fight, but Kid didn't kill the Heart member though. Instead, he hoped that the young man's severely injured body would act as an invitation of sorts to the Heart's leader. He wasn't completely brutal, well, actually he was. And he loved it.

Focusing his dark eyes back on the road, Kid let out a long cackle before turning on the radio. One of his favorite songs was playing. This was definitely his night. Cranking up the volume, he began to head bang to the heavy metal rhythm pulsing out of the car's speakers while he sped down the streets. A few minutes later Killer tapped on the shoulder forcefully.

"Look, Kid."

Angrily, he ceased his movement and turned towards his companion. "Look at what?"

An ear-piercing feminine shriek entered into his ears despite the music he had blaring in his car. It forced him to look back on the road. A petite figure was crossing the dark pavement ahead of him despite the bright emerald light shining above it. Pounding his fist on the car horn, Kid abruptly shoved his boot-clad foot on the brakes which caused the black Firebird to skid a few feet before making a complete stop a couple inches away from the person.

"Was that a fucking kid?" Kid snarled. If his tires went bald, he would kick the person's ass, child or not.

Slamming his car door open, the hulking male stomped towards the short figure, ready to chew them out. It came as a surprise to see that the insane jaywalker wasn't a child, but instead an adult female, well, at least Kid thought she was a female. Her wavy, brown bob didn't really appear to effeminate her, but as Kid lowered his eyes he was met with a shockingly impressive rack.

"Yo," a voice called out, "Eyes up here."

His head snapped up a bit to meet with the jaywalker's green ones. She was now glaring up at him with her hazy eyes; she must have been drunk. If anything, he should have been the one doing the glaring, and who was she to be bossing Eustass "Captain" Kid around.

He viciously place one his heavy palms on her throat. "Who do you think you are, midget?"

"Kid, stop," Killer's deep voice called out from inside the car, "We've already had enough fun tonight."

"Shut up, Killer."

Kid angled the woman's head up to meet his. Her eyes stared at his defiantly. She was a fighter; he always liked to break people like her. Slowly, he began to clench his pale hand tighter around her throat. She began to gasp for air.

"Stop!"

Great, someone else was here to ruin his fun. Kid turned his head to look to where the voice came from. An unquestionably attractive blue-haired woman was striding towards him. The brunette he was choking probably was her friend.

"What do you want?" He questioned with sarcasm seeping through his raspy voice. Looking into the newcomer's dark eyes, Kid saw fear, unmistakable fear. It was kind of a turn-on.

"Please," the blunette softly spoke," stop hurting her."

"Why should I?"

He was met with silence. He tried again

Gesturing towards the paling brunette in his right hand, Kid called out to the frightened woman." What can you give me to make me stop hurting your little pal here?"

"I have money…"

"Nah," Kid frowned, "I'm not really interested in that."

"Then what do you want?!"

"Hmm, well for starters, what's your name?"

The light-complexioned female seemed perplexed, but responded. "Vivi Nefertari."

Kid relaxed his grip on her friend's thin neck. Surely she wasn't the daughter Cobra Nefertari, a famous oil executive. That guy was one of the richest men in the world. He was practically royalty, so why then was his daughter in Sabaody City? Her family was supposed to have been in Alabasta.

"Come here," Kid began while motioning to Vivi with his free hand, "Give me your cell phone."

"W-what?"

"You heard me, now hand over the phone!"

Alarmed by the towering male's voice, Vivi dug through one of her coat pockets and pulled out a slim black device. Handing it over to Kid, she could only watch as he turned it on and poked into it with his free palm.

When done, Kid tossed the cell phone back to Vivi and dropped the suffocating brunette on the ground uncaringly. The shorter woman inhaled loudly as she lay face down on the onyx pavement.

"Expect a call from me." Kid called towards the blue-haired female who was rushing towards her possibly injured friend. Getting back into his vehicle, Kid revved up the engine and drove past the distraught pair, making eye contact with the two of them. He was going to make good use of this opportune moment. He was going to cause chaos.

* * *

Please review and what not.


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